Nov 21, 2008
Malaysian egg prices on the rise
Higher demand and reduced supply cited as reasons for price hike<!--10 min--> <!-- headline one : start --><!-- headline one : end --> <table style="width: 314px; height: 195px;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr></tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold">By Jessica Lim
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In wet markets, a pack of 10 large eggs now goes for $1.90, up 15 cents from three weeks ago. In supermarkets such as FairPrice, a carton of 10 house-brand eggs from Malaysia costs 5 cents more than last month. -- ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Can you eat your char kuay teow without egg?
PRICES of eggs from Malaysia have been on the rise in recent weeks, bucking the downward trend in the cost of other staples such as wheat and rice. Prices of wheat, for example, slid to about US$5.40 (S$8.26) a bushel yesterday, down from about US$13 a bushel in February; Thai fragrant rice prices slid to US$827 a tonne this week, down from US$1,222 in May.
In the wet markets, however, a pack of 10 large eggs now goes for $1.90, up 15 cents from three weeks ago. It is the same story in supermarkets. A carton of 10 FairPrice house-brand eggs from Malaysia now costs 5 cents more than last month. Thirty 'no brand' eggs which Sheng Siong supermarket sources from importers here now cost $4.30, up from $3.95 a month ago. Such hikes bring the cost of eggs back to the near-record prices in June, when the Malaysian fuel price hike drove up costs; they are the first increases since then.
Egg importer Ang Teng Hong said: 'Egg prices have actually gone down by about one cent per egg since July. Now, it is up again.' Importers have put the price rise down to a tightened supply: Hong Kong turned to Malaysian eggs last month when China eggs were found tainted with melamine.
Another reason: The jump in the cost of chicken feed about five months ago.
Importers explain that when the corn used to feed chickens became very expensive around mid-year, it put a squeeze on the number of chickens bred to become egg-laying hens. 'Now, there are not enough hens to lay eggs,' said Mr Tan Joo Wah, the chairman of Singapore's Eggs Import and Export Trading Association here.
Higher demand and slackened supply have thus pushed the price of each egg up half a cent every week in the past three weeks, he said. Prices are unlikely to ease up until after Chinese New Year when they may fall again, but till then, prices are likely to continue to increase week on week, predicted Mr Tan. In the meantime, consumers hope that the price hikes will stop at eggs.
Madam Paramjit Kaur, a 40-year-old teacher who shops for groceries twice weekly, said: 'Everyone is facing the possibility of pay cuts and we are not sure what will happen in the future. 'Every cent counts - I hope the increases don't extend to other food products.' These hikes are, however, just a blip in a general downward trend in prices, said Mr Goh Chong Theng, a general manager of Rabobank International, which finances agricultural ventures.
He added: 'It might take a few months for confidence to be restored when it comes to China eggs, but from experience, things should return to normal in a couple of months, when China imports hit the market again.
'Then the fall in prices should continue.'
[email protected]
Malaysian egg prices on the rise
Higher demand and reduced supply cited as reasons for price hike<!--10 min--> <!-- headline one : start --><!-- headline one : end --> <table style="width: 314px; height: 195px;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr></tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold">By Jessica Lim
</td></tr> <tr valign="bottom"> <td width="330">
</td> <td width="10">
</td></tr></tbody></table>
In wet markets, a pack of 10 large eggs now goes for $1.90, up 15 cents from three weeks ago. In supermarkets such as FairPrice, a carton of 10 house-brand eggs from Malaysia costs 5 cents more than last month. -- ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Can you eat your char kuay teow without egg?
PRICES of eggs from Malaysia have been on the rise in recent weeks, bucking the downward trend in the cost of other staples such as wheat and rice. Prices of wheat, for example, slid to about US$5.40 (S$8.26) a bushel yesterday, down from about US$13 a bushel in February; Thai fragrant rice prices slid to US$827 a tonne this week, down from US$1,222 in May.
In the wet markets, however, a pack of 10 large eggs now goes for $1.90, up 15 cents from three weeks ago. It is the same story in supermarkets. A carton of 10 FairPrice house-brand eggs from Malaysia now costs 5 cents more than last month. Thirty 'no brand' eggs which Sheng Siong supermarket sources from importers here now cost $4.30, up from $3.95 a month ago. Such hikes bring the cost of eggs back to the near-record prices in June, when the Malaysian fuel price hike drove up costs; they are the first increases since then.
Egg importer Ang Teng Hong said: 'Egg prices have actually gone down by about one cent per egg since July. Now, it is up again.' Importers have put the price rise down to a tightened supply: Hong Kong turned to Malaysian eggs last month when China eggs were found tainted with melamine.
Another reason: The jump in the cost of chicken feed about five months ago.
Importers explain that when the corn used to feed chickens became very expensive around mid-year, it put a squeeze on the number of chickens bred to become egg-laying hens. 'Now, there are not enough hens to lay eggs,' said Mr Tan Joo Wah, the chairman of Singapore's Eggs Import and Export Trading Association here.
Higher demand and slackened supply have thus pushed the price of each egg up half a cent every week in the past three weeks, he said. Prices are unlikely to ease up until after Chinese New Year when they may fall again, but till then, prices are likely to continue to increase week on week, predicted Mr Tan. In the meantime, consumers hope that the price hikes will stop at eggs.
Madam Paramjit Kaur, a 40-year-old teacher who shops for groceries twice weekly, said: 'Everyone is facing the possibility of pay cuts and we are not sure what will happen in the future. 'Every cent counts - I hope the increases don't extend to other food products.' These hikes are, however, just a blip in a general downward trend in prices, said Mr Goh Chong Theng, a general manager of Rabobank International, which finances agricultural ventures.
He added: 'It might take a few months for confidence to be restored when it comes to China eggs, but from experience, things should return to normal in a couple of months, when China imports hit the market again.
'Then the fall in prices should continue.'
[email protected]
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